Cruise to America's best bacon restaurants on Hormel's bacon-powered motorcycle

Austin Coop, Roadtrippers.com

1:50 PM, Aug 19, 2014

8:00 AM, Aug 20, 2014

Hormel's bacon-powered motorcycle.

drivenbybacon.com via Roadtrippers.com

Who hasn’t dreamed of taking a road trip on a big Hog? Well, what if that hog was fueled by, well, hog? Let us introduce to you Hormel’s bacon-powered motorcycle. Yes, you read that right… It’s a motorcycle that runs on bacon grease.

They rode out on August 4 from the Hormel headquarters in Austin, Minnesota, bound for San Diego by August 29, so the bacon-powered motorcycle can be on display at the Hormel-sponsored bacon festival. A documentary film will chronicle their adventure.

The film, “Driven by Bacon,” will show bearded actor-turned-bacon biker, Eric Pierson, as he squeals through Utah, Nevada and finally California. You can follow along with the road trip on the Driven By Bacon website. If you’re lucky enough to meet them and the bike, you’re in for a real bacon-y treat… The exhaust smells like, you guessed it, bacon.

But where would you go if YOU had a bacon-powered motorcycle? We think the only real answer is a road trip to one of America’s 5 top bacon restaurants…

The folks at BarBacon talk about bacon as if it were America’s greatest delicacy, and they may just be right. Their goal was to create a place that would pay the proper respects to America’s favorite sizzling delight, and they’ve done exactly that. While you’d expect to find a great bacon joint down in a deep south breakfast or barbecue joint somewhere, BarBacon is right in the heart of NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen. Even city slickers deserve good bacon.

It’s literally called Bacon. Do we even need to write a paragraph to make you go there? Using local and fresh ingredients in unique twists on traditional dishes, Bacon has become an Austin favorite since opening in 2011. The outdoor seating consists of seven picnic tables, so you’ll have a chance to meet your neighbors and other bacon lovers. (There is also indoor seating.)

While other trendy restaurants are trying to cash in on the bacon craze, Bad Decisions just keeps chugging along as first a bar and second, a place known for its bacon. The atmosphere, as we said, is bar. No fancy bacon here, just good ol’ bacon served up with cold beer. Bacon lovers show up in full force each Thursday for their beer and bacon happy hour. You should too.

In case you haven’t noticed a theme… Beer and bacon go together like peas and carrots. Paddy Long's Beer & Bacon Bar has taken the match to a new level by offering specially designed beer and bacon pairings. Five cuts of bacon are offered alongside five beers, with brews changing seasonally. Tip: Reserve a spot for their next tasting, as seats fill up fast.

Well, more like the parking lots around Arrowhead to be exact… To our knowledge, the Chiefs are the only NFL team with tailgating food so good it consistently makes lists just like these. While a tailgate party at Arrowhead is full of every kind of meat imaginable, bacon plays a vital part. The most die-hard bacon lovers even serve the famous “Bacon Explosion” from BBQ Addicts.

The description alone is enough to excite your stomach and stop your heart: “A pound of basket-weaved bacon wrapped around two pounds of juicy sausage filled with a pound of fried bacon crumbles. You can also choose to add cheese of jalapeños to the fried bacon filling!”

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